Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz invites GCC leaders for Riyadh summit

Cairo: Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz has requested Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Nayef Falah Al Hajraf to invite leaders of the GCC states to attend an annual summit scheduled for January 5 in Riyadh, the Saudi news agency SPA reported today.

“The commitment by Gulf leaders to hold the summit on an annual basis, and especially in these exceptional times, is firm evidence of the paramount importance attached by the leaders of the Council’s countries to deepen interconnectedness, cooperation and integration among the member countries and create new prospects for the Gulf citizen in the long term,” Al Hajraf said.

”Today, as the GCC enters its fifth decade with a global pandemic in the backdrop, the institution’s mission to facilitate trade and economic integration among member states is more relevant than at any time in its history,” he added.

Al Hajraf said he delivered today the Saudi monarch’s invitation to the UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to attend the summit. UAE Vice-President His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum received the invitation in Dubai.

The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.

The UAE has stressed the importance of the GCC cohesion and expressed full confidence in Saudi Arabia’s leadership to overcome challenges.